Residency Interview Preparation

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well and in the best of health mentally, emotionally, and physically. In less than one month, I will find out whether I have matched and to think that this journey is almost over is so crazy to me.

Anyway, I was so nervous about residency interviews. This is the chance to prove to programs that I am qualified but I did not know how to approach them. I was also anxious about the background. Most of my interviews were virtual this time and I did not have an amazing setup like some of the other applicants did.

However, after finally completing all of my interviews, I thought I should write some tips on how to be prepared while interviewing for residency.

1. Prepare using generic questions

If you do not absorb anything else from this post, I highly recommend burning this first tip into memory. For all of the interviews that I did, they used very similar questions. What I did before my first interview was answer a lot of these questions on a Google document and then practice them in my head. From there on, the night before every interview, I would skim through the document to keep the answers fresh in my eyes. Here are some of the generic questions that would be asked:

Tell me about yourself.

For this one, I talked about my background, the importance of education, and what I am currently involved in. Try to make this about one minute long because the interviewer’s eyes start to glaze when you start to make it longer. Think of it as if you are going on an elevator with someone and want to talk about yourself in that short amount of time. You want to highlight the big points to show the person who you really are.

Why this program?

This requires some research about the program the night before. Make sure to find out things that you like about the program and add it to your answer. Talk about how it will help you become a great provider in the field you want to specialize in.

Why you?

This question can be tough but really try to highlight the qualities that you have that set you apart from others. I talked about my background and my upbringing. I knew many applicants did not share the same challenges that I faced growing up so I knew I could probably relate more to my patients because of it.

Why this specialty?

Do not make this generic. Do not also criticize other specialties in the process. Really emphasize the qualities that you have and why this specialty best fits that.

Those were the four big hitters. These are some special mentions as well that I got.

What does leadership mean to you?
What does teamwork mean to you?
Describe a time you dealt with criticism.
What accomplishment are you the most proud of?
What are your strengths/weaknesses?
Name a time when you dealt with a challenging patient.

There are of course some questions that are thrown from left field and will shock you. However, take a deep breath and try your best to respond. Think of it more so as a conversation than as someone quizzing you.

2. Practice

You do not need to pay money for this! Find a mentor such as an attending or resident to practice going over these questions with you. I would randomly call people for help and go over it with them. This was really helpful and it helped me get rid of some of the ums and likes I usually put in my responses.

3. Research the program

I know I mentioned this earlier but research the program. Find out what it’s about and why you might want to go there. Maybe during your research, you may find that you do not like the program and that is fine but definitely bring that up as questions later or ways of improvement.

4. Review your ERAS application

Sometimes, it can be easy to forget what you put on your application. Therefore the night before make sure to review your activities and your personal statement. I even added a synopsis of it on my Google document so I could look over it as well.

5. Find the best place to interview at

This is very important. Try to find a place where you can interview that is well-lit, quiet, and comfortable. At first, I was trying to do mine at home but the street by my house is very busy and the room was not well-lit. I discovered that my local library had rooms that I could reserve and that was LIFE-SAVING! It was the perfect environment and I was not bothered at all. 10/10 experience. If you could get a room from your library or from your school that would be the best deal. I also bought a ring light as well that made the room more well-lit and I thought it worth it.

6. Make sure your laptop is well-charged and that the video and audio work

Test out the platform the night before. I have had issues with my camera turning off during interviews and it is frustrating. Therefore, I highly recommend checking if it works. Also, make sure your laptop is completely charged because the battery runs really low during interviews.

7. Find a nice outfit to wear

For my interview outfit, I would put on a nice abaya, suit, and hijab. It only took me 10 minutes to get ready which was nice. A lot of people have pajamas on underneath haha but as long as your upper half looks good you are safe!

8. Prepare questions for the interview when it ends

The question you will always hear no matter what is: do you have any questions for me? For this, I would look up the people who were interviewing me the night before and try to ask them questions accordingly. Also during my research of the school if I had any concerns I would bring it up.

And that is it, everyone! Residency interviews are nice but can be pretty exhausting. You can sit in front of your computer for hours and your eyes can start to strain not going to lie. However, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have received them. Good luck to everyone about to match, I pray that you get the place that is best for you.

Please please please do not forget about Palestine in your prayers. The genocide there keeps getting worse every day and it makes me sick to my stomach. Praying for all of the beautiful men, women, and children there. May God always be with them! 🤲🏾🤲🏾🤲🏾 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸